April 18 April 18 is the 108th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (109th in leap years). There are 257 days remaining. Events 1500-1899 1518 - Bona Sforza is crowned as queen of Poland and married to Sigismund I of Poland. 1775 - Paul Revere, William Dawes and Samuel Prescott ride to warn of impending arrests of Samuel Adams and John Hancock and seizure of weapons. Only Prescott finishes the ride. 1900-1999 1906 - 1906 San Francisco earthquake, estimated magnitude 7.8, destroys much of San Francisco, California. 1934 - The first "washateria" opens in Fort Worth, Texas. 1942 - World War II: The Doolittle Raid on Tokyo occurs. 1942 - Pierre Laval becomes Prime Minister of France. 1945 - A thousand-bomber raid on the small island of Heligoland leaves nothing standing; 128 people, mostly anti-aircraft crew, were killed. 1946 - The League of Nations dissolves. 1947 - While destroying German naval installations on Heligoland, the British Royal Navy detonate 6800 tons of explosive in an attempt to demolish the island. 1949 - The Republic of Ireland Act comes into force. 1954 - Gamal Abdal Nasser seizes power in Egypt. 1958 - A federal court rules that poet Ezra Pound should be released from an insane asylum. 1972 - The Roland Corporation founded in Osaka. 1974 - Italian prosecutor Mario Sossi is kidnapped by the Red Brigades. 1980 - The Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) came into being. 1983 - A suicide bomber destroys the United States embassy in Beirut, Lebanon. 1988 - U.S. launches Operation Praying Mantis against Iranian naval forces in retaliation for the April 14 mining of the USS Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58) in the Persian Gulf during Operation Earnest Will. The one-day action is the world's largest naval battle since World War II. 1994 - Brian Lara scores 375 in one inning of a test cricket match, beating Garfield Sobers's previous record of 365. 1996 - 102 Lebanese civilians are killed when the Israel Defense Forces shell the UN compound at Qana (see Qana Massacre). 2000-2099 2002 - A new order of insects, Mantophasmatodea, is announced. Births 1400-1899 1480 - Lucrezia Borgia, Renaissance ruler and daughter of Pope Alexander VI (d. 1519) 1590 - Ahmed I, Ottoman Emperor (d. 1617) 1605 - Giacomo Carissimi, Baroque era composer 1819 - Franz von Suppé, Croatian - Austrian composer (d. 1895) 1857 - Clarence Darrow, attorney (d. 1938) 1864 - Richard Harding Davis, author (d. 1916) 1874 - Ivana Brlic-Mazuranic, Croat writer (d. 1938) 1880 - Sam Crawford, Baseball Hall of Famer (d. 1968) 1882 - Leopold Stokowski, conductor and founder of the American Symphony Orchestra (d. 1977) 1888 - Duffy Lewis, Major League Baseball player (d. 1979) 1893 - Jo Swerling, writer (d. 1964) 1897 - Ardito Desio, Italian topographer and mountaineer (d. 2001) 1900-1999 1901 - László Németh, author (d. 1975) 1904 - Pigmeat Markham, comedian (d. 1981) 1921 - Jean Richard, actor (d. 2001) 1921 - Barbara Hale, actress 1928 - Otto Piene, painter 1940 - Robert N. Kucey, author 1946 - Hayley Mills, actress 1947 - James Woods, actor 1947 - Kathy Acker, author 1949 - Geoff Bodine, automobile racer 1954 - Rick Moranis, comedian 1956 - Anna Kathryn Holbrook, soap opera actress 1956 - Melody Thomas Scott, soap opera actress 1961 - Jane Leeves, actress 1963 - Conan O'Brien, comedian 1966 - Trine Hattestad, javelin thrower 1969 - Princess Sayako of Japan's Imperial Family 1979 - Michael Bradley, NBA basketball player 1983 - Miguel Cabrera, MLBbaseball player Deaths 1674 - John Graunt, statistician 1689 - George Jeffreys, British Chief Justice, presided over the Bloody Assizes (b. 1648) 1873 - Justus von Liebig, chemist (b. 1803) 1945 - Ernie Pyle, American journalist (b. 1900) 1964 - Ben Hecht, playwright, screenwriter (b. 1894) 1955 - Albert Einstein, scientist (b. 1879) 1996 - Piet Hein, mathematician, inventor (b. 1905) 2002 - Thor Heyerdahl, Norwegian explorer on the Kon-Tiki expedition (b. 1914) 2003 - Edgar F. Codd, Founder of theory of relational databases (b. 1923) 2003 - Daijiro Kato, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1976) 2004 - Ratu Sir Kamisese Mara, first Prime Minister and later President of Fiji(b. 1920) Holidays and observances Good Friday (2003) Easter (1976) April 17 - April 19 - March 18 - May 18 -- listing of all days Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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